More Reaction to New Chicago Bears General Manager Phil Emery

By CBJ

As angry as I was when I heard the new on Saturday about Phil Emery becoming the Chicago Bears General Manager, I’m even more fired up today. This was a typical move out of Halas Hall to find someone on the cheap. I had such high hopes for George McCaskey and Ted Phillips, and instead this whole process became a disgrace. The Chicago Bears hired a guy that other teams didn’t even consider for the position. I guess Emery is great at remembering coffee orders and sharpening pencils.

Emery’s biggest selling point are his great scouting skills. He’s been given credit for helping to draft Matt Ryan…HE WAS THE FIRST PICK IN THE DRAFT!!!!!!!!!!! I’ll argue that Jerry Angelo made a better move for Jay Cutler. While Ryan has been good, he’s not in the conversation of elite quarterbacks. To say that Emery discovered Ryan is like giving Chicago Bulls credit for drafting Derrick Rose.

Supposedly, Emery scouted Roddy White out of UAB. White was taken with the 27th pick in the 2005 Draft. He certainly deserves credit for identifying such a top player. But let’s keep in mind that it was a first-round selection. We’re so used to botched first-round draft choices here in Chicago that a selection like White seems like a miraculous find. Just to keep things in perspective, the Bears drafted five that year and took Cedric Benson. With Ryan and White, remember that Emery wasn’t the General Manager of the Falcons. For all we know, Emery didn’t want to draft either guy. For all of his excellent football sense, Emery didn’t stick around with the Falcons long enough to see both Ryan and White develop. This guy just can’t stay in one place. No one else seems to notice his lack of consistency with one franchise.

The terms work ethic and hard worker are regularly used in describing Emery. As I’ve said before and I will say again, that isn’t a selling point. If you don’t have either one of these traits in life, chances are that you will not be successful. Do you think that Angelo sat behind his desk and played Spider Cell? This is the same nonsense fans use when comparing Lovie Smith to other coaches. Fans want to see him act like a raving lunatic. However, just because Smith isn’t Mike Ditka doesn’t mean he isn’t passionate about his job. It just means that he handles himself with class.

Dr. Lawrence J. Peter and Raymond Hull in 1969 wrote a book called The Peter Principle. On top of many other things, it is famous for noting that in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence. Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce you to the Chicago Bears new General Manager, Phil Emery…